Researcher Behaviors and the Impact of Technology

12:00 Noon - 12:15pm Welcome (NISO)

12:15 - 12:45pm Simplicity is the Ultimate Sophistication: Accessible, Ubiquitous Technologies & Their Affordances for Research

When we think of what technologies have the potential to drive research forward our minds often alight to exciting new developments that are still relatively rarified. However, it is the trend towards technologies becoming more affordable and accessible that often can have the most impact on how researchers do their work. In this talk I will focus on two examples of how this phenomena is currently playing out across the research spectrum: STEM data sharing communities, and humanists capturing archival content through personal mobile devices. Focusing on the technologies that are trending toward ubiquity is an important strategy for librarians, publishers, and service providers as they identify opportunities to support the research enterprise. 

12:45 – 1:15pm Tools to support systematic review research

The systematic review process is complex and using tools can help researchers to navigate the steps involved in a systematic review.  There are tools available at no cost to researchers for each of the various stages of the systematic review. Some tools are designed specifically for systematic reviews.  With over a hundred tools to choose from specifically designed for systematic reviews, choosing the right tool can be daunting for researchers. As part of the systematic review service at our library, we ask researchers to complete a protocol form.  The protocol form gives us insights into their current awareness or knowledge of tools and we are able to offer customized recommendations or training. We give them the information they need to make an informed decision of what tool to use, without deciding for them.

1:15 – 1:45pm Case Study: Supporting Researcher Impact and Efficiency

Vincent will describe how the IET has transformed its Inspec A&I database.  The advent of free to air discovery services (like Google Scholar) and the changing habits of researchers led to a declining usage of Inspec, which in turn put pressure on subscription renewals.  The IET, understanding the inherent value of highly structured and expertly curated data, worked with researchers, information professionals and research directors to understand how to unlock the value of this data asset.  In May 2019 Inspec Analytics was launched, a precision insight and impact analysis tool that sits alongside Inspec, and allows both researchers and senior faculty improve their efficiency and impact. Inspec Analytics won the Charleston Advisors ‘Best New Product/Service’ in October 2019. 

1:45 - 2:00pm Break

2:00 – 2:30pm Using text-mining and summarisation technology to manage the growth in published and unpublished research.

With the number of new scientific papers each year now exceeding 2.5 million and publishing scientists worldwide growing at a rate of 4-5% per year, the task for researchers needing to draw from this ever-deepening well of knowledge can be overwhelming. And the challenge isn’t limited to published research. Since the early 90s, researchers have been making their early-stage findings available on preprint servers, and in the past couple of years preprints have gone mainstream. This can be seen as a double-edged sword: far more research is now freely available to the academic community, but at the expense of even greater information overload.

We’ll talk about some of the ways that researchers are adopting text-mining and summarisation tools such as Scholarcy to:

• Systematically screen the literature in their field

• Get quick, informative overviews of academic papers

• Extract references and follow the citation trail

• Extract figures and tabular data to analyse in more depth

• Promote their own research

2:30 – 3:00pm Promoting Content Discovery Within the Reader/Researcher Workflow

With over 2.5 million scholarly articles published each year – more than 8,000 each day - researchers face a constant challenge of keeping up to date with new developments within their fields and in adjacent disciplines that could impact their work. TrendMD’s recommendation engine uses technology, including Artificial Intelligence (AI) to connect ideas, subjects, and people.  Article-level recommendations help researchers discover new content related to their interests, within the context of their research workflow. Publishers use our service to grow their website traffic, build readership, find new users, and increase citations. This presentation will describe how this works, and will include research and case studies that demonstrate how TrendMD is helping researchers and publishers achieve their goals through enhanced discovery.

3:00 - 3:30pm Planning for the Long-Term

This session features three faculty librarians with Carnegie Mellon University Libraries who engage with researchers in a variety of established and emerging technologies on a regular basis. Recognizing that the University Libraries are becoming centers of technical literacy, they will touch on how they work cross-disciplinary (humanities, STEM, etc.) approaches into learning opportunities offered at their institution. Relying on their expertise from a range of backgrounds (archaeology, geography, and cell biology), they discuss how they interact with and support researchers at all career stages, including challenges, educational efforts, and collaborative opportunities. 

3:30 - 4:00pm Moderated Roundtable Discussion